On January 20, 2017, tens of thousands of people converged in Washington, D.C. to oppose the inauguration of Donald Trump.A wide variety of demonstrations countered the spectacle of the inauguration, making it clear to the world that many of us reject Trump’s cruel and divisive leadership.

A day of defeat became a moment of resistance, and set the stage for the travel ban protests that followed. While Trump and his army of trolls have encountered few meaningful obstacles in the halls of power, grassroots resistance has persisted.

Unfortunately, with resistance comes repression. After terrorizing protesters (including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities) with pepper spray and ‘stinger’ grenades, DC police cordoned off an entire city block and mass-arrested more than 230 people.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff (under the authority of U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips) later sought an indictment charging more than 200 people with at least eight felonies each—for rioting, inciting a riot, conspiracy to riot, and property destruction—punishable by up to 75 years in prison.

With these unprecedented, excessive charges, the state is cracking down on dissent – allowing Trump to pursue his agenda challenged only by symbolic hand-wringing. This strategy corresponds with a broader wave of repression, from arrests and grand jury investigations of Indigenous water protectors at #StandingRock, to the demonization of #BlackLivesMatter.

Just as our struggles are connected, these arrests represent a threat to all people fighting for true freedom, dignity, and autonomy.

You can help by contacting the prison administration, and by writing to Jaan to let him know he’s in our thoughts. You can also spread the word to supporters in your community by ordering these beautiful postcards from our friends at Prison Radio:

We have received word that Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, prisoner-organizer and revolutionary has been moved from Texas! He was picked up by his Virginia DOC officials (he was on an interstate transfer). Rashid is a very good organizer and he was moved from Red Onion State Prison because of his influence and leadership. It seems now that Texas also could not handle his principled determination.

Supporters learned that he is being held at a reception center in the state of Florida. We will forward additional information as soon as we know it.

Transfers have been opportunities for prison officials to arrange for violence and abuse. Rashid was beaten and had his locks shaved when he was first brought to Texas, and lost much of his property. We are concerned about prisoners’ rights and basic human dignity and we will take action to make sure this does not happen again!

TAKE ACTION!

Who to call

Call Script

I am calling on behalf of Kevin Johnson, Virginia inmate number 1007485. I am a friend of Mr. Johnson’s, and am highly concerned for his well-being and safety. I understand that he was recently taken by Virginia Department of Corrections from Clements Unit in Amarillo, TX.

Where in Florida is he being taken? Is he being returned to Virginia where his family would be able to visit him?

I demand that Mr. Johnson be moved to Virginia, that ALL of his property, including ALL his legal materials and his typewriter, be given to him upon his new location, and that his transport be safe and humane.

Please let us know immediately if you find out any information on Rashid.
Additional Resources

Rashid is Minister of Defense of the New Afrikan Black Panther Party (Prison Chapter); he is a Virginia prisoner organizer and revolutionary communist. As a result of his organizing he has been repeatedly transferred out of state, under a setup called the “Interstate Compact” which is used to remove rebellious prisoners and exile them to locations where they have no friends, support, etc. For the past four years Rashid has been held in Texas, where he has been beaten, threatened, had his property confiscated, been set up on bogus infractions, and more — nonetheless, he used his time there to forge connections with other prisoners and to write a series of powerful exposés about violence, medical neglect, abuse, and murder in the Texas prison system.

He has also been targeted because of analysis and belief organizing across boundries of race and class. Look carefully at his latest artwork, this is what the state finds dangerous:

Thank you for calling and taking action.

Cuando luchamos ganamos! When we fight, we win!
Noelle Hanrahan
Director, Prison Radio

As of today, Monday, June 26, 2017, Jaan K. Laaman, long-time anti-imperialist political prisoner, is still locked down in segregation (minimum of 23 hours locked down in a 6×9’ cell). Jaan has been in “segregation” for three months simply for issuing two statements, a clear violation of free speech and human rights. He is being threatened with transfer to a Communication Management Unit (CMU) or Special Management Unit; punishments that are not appropriate for a prisoner of Jaan’s age, and would be a violation for practicing free speech.

After a prison hearing on May 4, 2017, Jaan was found to not have violated prison regulations regarding “misuse of mail,” but was found to have violated prison regulations concerning “misuse of the telephone,” for speaking on the phone to a friend and conveying his support of the “Day Without a Woman Strike” (International Women’s Day, March 8, 2017), and his feelings about the death of his friend, Attorney Lynne Stewart. Jaan was sanctioned by losing 10 days good time credit and by loss of the telephone for 6 months (in addition to the loss of email access which was imposed without a hearing one year ago). Jaan is currently appealing this ruling. Meanwhile, Jaan is still in “segregation,” and still being threatened with transfer to a CMU.

Jaan has no access to news and access to phone calls. It’s important we send him some letters right now. Send him articles, so that he gets some world news and messages of solidarity and support. Let the jailers see that Jaan has support from the community and cannot just be left in segregation or silenced.

Jaan Karl Laaman #10372-016

USP Tucson

P.O. Box 24550

Tucson, AZ 85734

Background Information

Jaan is imprisoned at United States Penitentiary (USP) Tucson in Arizona, and is one of the last two remaining Ohio-7 political prisoners still locked up. The Ohio-7 were convicted in 1986 of direct actions to protest U.S. support for the white-supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa, illegal U.S. attacks on Nicaragua, and repression against advocates for Puerto Rican self-determination.

Jaan was placed into solitary confinement because of two short messages: one in support of the “Day Without a Woman Strike” (International Women’s Day, March 8, 2017) which was printed in the NYC Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) update, and his “Farewell Thoughts to My Friend, Lynne Stewart” which was broadcast on Prison Radio. Lynne Stewart, revolutionary peoples’ lawyer passed away on March 8, 2017. When the NYC ABC magazine arrived by mail to the prison, Jaan was promptly placed in solitary confinement. Prison officials charged Jaan with “threatening the security of the prison” because of these First Amendment protected statements.

No one should be punished for exercising their First Amendment Rights. The United States District Court in Pennsylvania recently ruled in a case involving efforts to censure Mumia Abu-Jamal:“A past criminal offense does not extinguish a person’s constitutional right to free expression. The First Amendment does not disappear at the prison gate.”

Pattern of Increasing Repression

Being placed in segregation is the latest act of repression by the prison administration, following increasing actions against Jaan. Over a year ago, the prison shut down Jaan’s access to email, and they have been censoring him in various ways since then, including withholding his mail and limiting access to his lawyer.

Jaan was placed in segregation on his birthday and has been there ever since. There is a growing consensus as to the psychological harm caused by solitary confinement. In 2011 the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture concluded that solitary confinement for more than 15 days constitutes torture and can cause irreversible harmful psychological effects.

Jaan previously wrote about the increasing censorship he has been facing, here. Jaan has been writing reflections about global events since he was first captured in 1984, so this level of censorship is certainly something new and different.

We will gather on the 20th Year Anniversary of Texas Political Prisoner Alvaro “Xinachtli” Luna Hernandez’ wrongful conviction, to make public contact and protest statement for his excessive punishment of a 50-Year Sentence & Felony Conviction for Aggravated Assault, for disarming a sheriff in 1997, who had threateningly drawn his revolver after Xinachtli challenged his authority to arrest him without a warrant on suspicion of Aggravated Robbery, a bogus charge, at his home.

“Xinachtli, is an Aztecan ‘Nahuatl’ name meaning, if literally translated into English, is “Germinating Seed, “ and is how he prefers to be called. He is an Anti-Imperialist, Chicano-Mexicano, Human Rights Activist, and former Union Organizer and Civil Rights Advocate for his Community, and is in our opinion, and many of his support base around the world, a victim of an abusively cruel & overused Solitary Confinement form of isolation as ‘rehab’ or security, on the pretext of maintaining an orderly smooth-functioning prison facility.

As opined in a 1978-79 Prisoner Class Action, Ruiz v. Estelle, 550 2d 238, legendary Texas Jurist, U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice, for the Eastern District of Texas stated. . .”the conditions of imprisonment within the TDC (now TDCJ) Prison System constituted Cruel and Unusual Punishment in violation of the United States Constitution.” “Xinachtli” has endured twice the maximum limit of this (20) year period that Wayne Justice figured as a cutoff point before the degrading conditions of ‘solitary’ would manifest into dis-ease and loss of sanity. This August, it will be (15) consecutive years of being subjected to this form of Texas Torture and sensory-deprivation they call “Administrative Segregation.”

By quarantining political dissidents like “Xinachtli,” they’ve labelled and denigrated as “trouble-makers,” and the 125 or so other recognized PP’s across this country in a similar manner, and in his case, all due to a damaging false accusation of an informant that said “Xinachtli” was responsible for a prison gang ‘hit,’ someone he didn’t even know; Texas’ ‘Control Units’ have become a sad reflection of a society that’s bottomed-up, by allowing these tax-payer-funded “Houses of Horror” to continue to maim and destroy human lives. LIBERATE “XINACHTLI” –GIVE HIM A NEW DATE IN COURT & ABOLISH SOLITARY CONFINEMENT NOW FOREVER!!

Jaan K. Laaman, long-time anti-imperialist political prisoner, is currently in segregation (minimum of 23 hours locked down in a 6×9’ cell). Jaan has been in segregation since his birthday on March 21, 2017, over two months now, simply for issuing two statements, a clear violation of free speech and human rights. He is being threatened with transfer to a Communication Management Unit or Special Management Unit; punishments that are not appropriate for a prisoner of Jaan’s age and would be a violation for practicing free speech. Jaan was placed into solitary confinement because of two short messages he released: one in support of the “Day Without a Woman Strike” (International Women’s Day, March 8, 2017) which was printed in the NYC Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) update, and his “Farewell Thoughts to My Friend, Lynne Stewart” which was broadcast on Prison Radio. When the NYCABC update arrived by mail to the prison, Jaan was promptly placed in solitary confinement. Prison officials charged Jaan with “threatening the security of the prison” because of these First Amendment protected statements.

How you can support Jaan:

Write/call/email the Bureau of Prisons and ask them to end the repression against Jaan!

Please write and call the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials below and ask that Jaan:

1- Be released from segregation & placed back into general population immediately.

2- That he not be moved to a Communication Management Unit or punished further for exercising free speech.

3- Have his phone and email privileges be restored immediately.

Please remind them that Jaan is an elder prisoner, and you are concerned about his health in segregation and you would be concerned about his safety if he is moved to a Communication Management Unit.

Jaan has no access to news and access to phone calls. It’s important we send him some letters right now. Send him articles, so that he gets some world news and messages of solidarity and support. Let the jailers see that Jaan has support from the community and cannot just be left in segregation or silenced.

Jaan Karl Laaman #10372-016USP TucsonP.O. Box 24550Tucson, AZ 85734

Background Information

Jaan is imprisoned at United States Penitentiary (USP) Tucson in Arizona, and is one of the last two remaining Ohio-7 political prisoners still locked up, (the other is Tom Manning). The Ohio-7 were convicted in 1986 of direct actions to oppose U.S. support for the white-supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa, illegal U.S. attacks on Nicaragua, and repression against Puerto Rican freedom fighters.

No one should be punished for exercising their First Amendment Rights. The United States District Court in Pennsylvania recently ruled in a case involving efforts to censure Mumia Abu-Jamal: “A past criminal offense does not extinguish a person’s constitutional right to free expression. The First Amendment does not disappear at the prison gate.”

Pattern of Increasing Repression

This is the latest act of repression by the prison administration, following increasing actions against Jaan. Over a year ago, the prison shut down Jaan’s access to email, and they have been censoring him in various ways since then, including withholding his mail and limiting access to his lawyer.

Jaan previously wrote about the increasing censorship he has been facing, here. Jaan has been writing reflections about global events since he was first captured in 1984, so this level of censorship is new and different.

Jaan K. Laaman, long-time anti-imperialist political prisoner, is currently in segregation. Jaan has been in segregation since his birthday on March 21, 2017 simply for issuing two political statements, a clear violation of free speech and human rights. [More details below.]

How you can support Jaan:

Write to Jaan and let him know he’s in our hearts and on our minds.

Jaan has no access to news and almost no access to phone calls. It’s important we send him some letters right now. Send him articles, so that he gets some world news.

Write and call the Warden and ask him to end the repression against Jaan.

Please write and call the Warden at USP Tucson and ask that Jaan be released from segregation and that he not be punished for expressing his support for women’s rights and for writing a statement mourning the passing of his friend, Lynne Stewart. Remind the Warden that Jaan is an elder prisoner, and you’re concerned about his health in segregation and you would be concerned about his safety if he is moved to another prison.

Jaan is imprisoned at United States Penitentiary (USP) Tucson in Arizona, and is one of the last two remaining Ohio-7 political prisoners still locked up. The Ohio-7 were convicted in 1986 of direct actions to protest U.S. support for the white-supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa, illegal U.S. attacks on Nicaragua, and repression against advocates for Puerto Rican self-determination.

Jaan was placed into solitary confinement because of two short messages: one in support of the “Day Without a Woman Strike” (International Women’s Day, March 8, 2017) which was printed in the NYC Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) update, and his “Farewell Thoughts to My Friend, Lynne Stewart” which was broadcast on Prison Radio. Lynne Stewart, revolutionary peoples’ lawyer passed away on March 8, 2017. When the NYC ABC magazine arrived by mail to the prison, Jaan was promptly placed in solitary confinement. Prison officials charged Jaan with “threatening the security of the prison” because of these First Amendment protected statements.

No one should be punished for exercising their First Amendment Rights. The United States District Court in Pennsylvania recently ruled in a case involving efforts to censure Mumia Abu-Jamal:“A past criminal offense does not extinguish a person’s constitutional right to free expression. The First Amendment does not disappear at the prison gate.”

Pattern of Increasing Repression

Being placed in segregation is the latest act of repression by the prison administration, following increasing actions against Jaan. Over a year ago, the prison shut down Jaan’s access to email, and they have been censoring him in various ways since then, including withholding his mail and limiting access to his lawyer.

Jaan was placed in segregation on his birthday and has been there ever since. There is a growing consensus as to the psychological harm caused by solitary confinement. In 2011 the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture concluded that solitary confinement for more than 15 days constitutes torture and can cause irreversible harmful psychological effects.

Jaan previously wrote about the increasing censorship he has been facing, here. Jaan has been writing reflections about global events since he was first captured in 1984, so this level of censorship is certainly something new and different.